Intel Might Start Producing Chips For Cars Soon
Updated: Aug 21, 2021
Intel is currently in talks to produce car chips to alleviate shortage.
Credit: Intel Corporation
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters in an exclusive interview that the company is talking to companies that design chips for car manufacturers about producing the same chips inside Intel’s factory network. The company aims to produce them within six to nine months and it hopes that the chips produced will alleviate some of the problems caused by the current semiconductor shortage to automakers like Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co.
“We’re hoping that some of these things can be alleviated, not requiring a three or four-year factory build, but maybe six months of new products being certified on some of our existing processes,” Gelsinger said. “We’ve begun those engagements already with some of the key components suppliers.”
Gelsinger did not name the suppliers he mentioned, but he did share that the chip manufacturing could take place in the company’s factories in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Israel or Ireland.
Intel, along with other companies that manufacture or use chips such as Dell and Google, was part of a virtual summit convened by US President Joe Biden to discuss the chip shortage and the need to improve America’s semiconductor supply chain.
The US government is worried of the centring production of semiconductors in Asia, where China’s influence has grown strong even during the ongoing shortage. Credit: AMETEK Programmable Power
US officials have grown increasingly worried about the heavy reliance on Asian manufacturing companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for cutting-edge microchips that will fuel important, next-gen technologies. This reliance worries the US government as China has such a large influence over the region, CNN Business reports.
“We’re investing aggressively in areas like semiconductors and batteries – that’s what they’re doing and others, so must we,” Biden said at the virtual summit. He also stressed that it is important to build out and invest in America’s supply chain to never be “at the mercy of another country or any other nation for the critical needs.”
Intel previously announced that it was building two factories in Arizona as part of its manufacturing expansion plans. The company also announced that they were planning to become a major provider of foundry capacity in the US and Europe to globally serve customers.
Written by John Paul Joaquin